'Miracle' Weight Loss Drug Manufacturers Get Hauled Into Court
Originally published via American Thinker:
I get a veritable avalanche of breathless complaints from (probably obese) individuals when I write about semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy and Ozempic in the United States). Their objections tend to go along the lines of "but muh pharma. How else am I supposed to lose weight?"
The obeses call me a fascist — exercise and eating right now being apparently "right-wing." They say I'm unempathetic and don't understand their plight for even suggesting they don't turn to expensive pharmaceutical products as their first-resort solution to their problems.
These people will do anything not to have to move their fat butts and moderate their carbohydrate intake — even if it messes up their thyroids and causes anesthesia complications.
Now at least one American law firm is taking up the cases of individuals injured by these aggressively marketed "miracle" weight-loss drugs. This is the first lawsuit I'm aware of, but it almost certainly won't be the last, given the side-effect profile of semaglutide.
"A personal injury law firm has filed a lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Co., the manufacturers of Ozempic and Mounjaro, over claims that the diabetes drugs, which are popular for aiding weight loss, can cause gastroparesis, a paralysis of the stomach.
Paul Pennock and Jonathan Sedgh, the attorneys heading up the lawsuit from the firm Morgan & Morgan, announced the filing at a news conference Wednesday, saying the basis of the suit is “a failure to warn.”
“It is our opinion that these drugs are causing these problems. We think that the evidence is sufficient for us to be able to prove it or we would not have filed the case, and we intend to file many more in the coming days and weeks,” Pennock said during the Zoom conference, noting the first case filed involves a 44-year-old woman from Louisiana who has taken both drugs, Ozempic first and then Mounjaro, at the discretion of her doctor.
“Her problems have been so severe that she’s been to the emergency room multiple times, including last weekend. She’s actually even thrown up so violently that she’s lost teeth,” he said of the plaintiff, who is seeking financial compensation, but has not yet been officially diagnosed with gastroparesis.
Pennock says his firm is investigating 400 other inquiries from clients across 45 states."
What's a little projectile vomiting so violent that it knocks teeth out when fast weight loss is on the line? We'll see how a jury comes down on the cost-benefit analysis if this ever goes to trial (it'll probably be settled for P.R. purposes).
There are no one-shot, simple solutions for complex health issues, despite what sleazy drug pushers might claim. We might have learned that lesson from a little multi-billion-dollar pill called OxyContin.
Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.
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I was on the weight loss roller coaster for about a decade before I stumbled upon the most incredibly simple "food plan" imaginable. Basically, you stay away from pretty much anything that is even minimally processed, complex carbs, trans fats, seed oils, and most importantly anything that has wheat, corn, flour or SUGAR.
They call it a "food plan" rather than a "diet" because you're never hungry. The most common complaint initially is that it's simply too much food, but eventually the stomach expands to accommodate the high volume of food that is dispatched to the stomach every day.
I lost 150 lbs. in less than seven months and i did it without ever doing ANY exercise whatsoever. Now I ride my bike, play disc golf, run wind sprints, swim and screw like I'm seventeen again without any drugs.
I was taking over 8 prescription drugs just to keep my heart pumping relatively well. I had a standing 15 year diagnosis for congestive heart failure. My cardiologist was dumbfounded after seeing my latest EKG and echocardiogram which indicated that I no longer had congestive heart failure. He still wanted me to continue to take a couple of medications, but I eventually weened myself off of them as well and haven't seen any cardiologists in over a decade. I haven't been cardioverted in over a decade either.
Food was killing me and changing my diet has literally saved my life. It's really that simple, and if you grow a few things in your garden, it's quite a bit cheaper to eat healthy than to buy prepackaged crap from the supermarket.
I'm almost 60 years old and in better condition than I was in my early 30's. The body is quite resilient if given half a chance.
Everyone wants an easy solution. Truth be told, the mechanisms for weight loss and improved body composition are quite simple. While there are multiple approaches for weight loss, the most reliable one (for me) was low-carb with time restriction.
As for fitness, almost anything will do. For me, a combination of daily yoga and calisthenics does the trick. Like I said, it’s remarkably simple.
The real problem is the will. Just as in smoking, where you merely stop putting cigarettes in your mouth. Easy, right?
Any approach that bypasses the conquering of your will is doomed to failure. That’s because your will needs to be mastered. Herein lies the difficulty. The good news? Small wins beget more wins, and the wins get bigger and bigger.
Conquering your will is the miracle. It pay’s dividends in every area of your life. Cheat there at your own peril.